Eco-Friendly Ways to De-Ice Your Property

20 Dec, 2013

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De-icing your property is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your friends and family this winter. The last thing you want is someone taking a spill outside your home. While removing ice is traditionally done with salt, this solution can be damaging to your lawn. Excess salts can permeate your soil, prevent plants from absorbing moisture and nutrients, and even attract animals. Here are 3 inexpensive and eco-friendly alternatives to salt:

Snow shovel:It’s a little more labor intensive, but using a shovel to de-ice your property can be a very effective solution. The sooner you begin shoveling after a snowstorm, the better. The longer you wait, the better the chances ice will form, making it much more difficult to shovel.

Get a grip:Instead of salt, scatter sand or birdseed over your property. While neither of these solutions melts snow and ice the way salt does, they will make your property much less slippery and significantly decrease the chances of someone slipping and falling.

Use electricity:Make the investment in an electronic snow blower. While this isn’t the most eco-friendly solution, it’s still better than using toxic road salts.

At the end of the day, using a little elbow grease to de-ice your property is the best solution. It will protect your lawn, save the environment and even give you a little exercise, which is hard to come by in the winter.